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GameSpy's Fallout 3 Wasteland Survival Guide

The VATS combat system is how Fallout 3, despite being a real-time first-person shooter, brings back the strategic feel of the original PC games. At any time, you can pause the action to survey the battlefield, pick out targets, and aim for specific body parts. You can even shoot the weapons out of an enemy's hands, or detonate that grenade they're about to throw at you with a well-aimed shot. Boom!

The downside to VATS is that you have a finite number of action points, and the bigger and badder guns use more action points per shot than the small pistols. You'll have to learn to use it sparingly in bigger battles. Action points regenerate over time, but don't feel like you need to hold your fire until you get enough points for another aimed shot. You can still access VATS to line up your shots, aiming for the next enemy to kill, and then exiting VATS to take the shot. This is a great way to avoid wasting time in combat when under fire, trying to find your targets.

A good general strategy to employ is to open up on an enemy by firing off a few rounds, and then use VATS to finish them off, usually with headshots. This is a particularly good way to approach combat if you're using a gun with a zooming sight, like the Sniper rifle or the Scoped Magnum. Your chance to hit with VATS doesn't take zoom into account, so it's the equivalent of your optimal hip-firing accuracy. Zoom in, take the shot, and then finish them off with VATS!

Conserve Ammo: Punch a Radroach

You wouldn't shoot roaches in the real world: You'd just step on them (or so we hope). The same logic applies to even the enormous mutant roaches of the Capital Wasteland. Even without dropping any points into your Unarmed or Melee Weapon skills, you'll be quite capable of punching, knifing, super sledging or power fisting your way through the game's less-challenging encounters. While there's plenty of ammo in the Wasteland, you'll find that conserving it will lead to more caps in your pocket, and more bullets for your follower to shoot.

Sleepy Time Fun

The Swift Learner perk gives you an additional 10% of total Experience Point gains. But did you know that you can replicate this effect just by getting a good night's sleep? The well-rested bonus applies for about half a day after resting, so you'll want to remember to rest frequently.

Sleeping is the best possible way to advance time, so you can be sure to arrive at locations in time for scripted events. If you know something important is going to happen at 2 p.m. the next day, sleeping is the best way to make sure that you're bright-eyed and ready to make it there on time.